True Grit

Though emotions were mixed when we won the Breaking News category for the tragedy in Isla Vista (reported by, clockwise from top left, Brandon Fastman, Tyler Hayden, Nick Welsh, Lyz Hoffman, Kelsey Brugger, and Matt Kettmann), we are more than proud about our firsts in the Better Newspaper Contest held by the California Newspaper Publishers Association, which include Fastman’s DREAM Act story, Hayden’s rental market cover, and the autobiographical “Paddling Through the Storm” by Ethan Stewart (who was busy with his newborn when we took this photo), and seconds for website, photo essay, and news photo.